Friday, May 18, 2007

What's In Your Cookie? (A Reprise)

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I'm sort of cheating on this post as I pulled it from the archives of my Live Journal blog and am resurrecting it here. I originally wrote this on May 5th, 2006 so it's just a little over a year old. I was reminded of it this evening while I was at the same restaurant that I wrote about with the same two people - Amanda and my friend Paula. Enjoy ...

The past week has seen me at the Eastern Sake Buffet not once but twice as it seems to be Amanda's favorite food-joint of choice right now because she's wild about the (be still my roiling stomach!) octopus. Being amongst the large group of large Americans that likes to eat way much more than I should, I like the buffet but it's getting a little old because, contrary to popular opinion, there really can be too much of a good thing!

Anyhow, I thought I'd share my latest fortunes courtesy of the American Chinese Fortune Cookie Company or whoever it is that makes these things (visions of a little Mexican guy sitting in El Paso, Texas come to mind for some reason!). After all, what self-respecting Chinese restaurant, be it buffet or order-off-the-menu, doesn't offer a fortune cookie along with the bill? Why, that would be just downright unAmerican if they were to do that!

Last Saturday's fortune read "Reconcile with an old friend. All has been forgotten." Now there's a fortune that calls for some contemplation rather than the standard rolling of the eyes and you've-got-to-be-kidding look. Chances are good that everyone has someone from their past that remains there simply because all has not been forgotten. And what a shame that is.

One person from my past readily leaps to mind here but somehow I think that all has neither been forgotten or forgiven where he's concerned. And that's sad because I really do miss his friendship. Could I dare hope that the cookie is right? Well, if it is I guess I'll never know for I'm certainly not going to drive up to his new palatial homestead, knock on the door, and say "my fortune cookie sent me".

Last night's fortune cookie asked "What is the distance between the eyes and the soul?" Good question and one to which I don't readily have an answer. I've heard it said many times that the eyes are the windows to the soul but if you look into someone's eyes long enough will you actually see into their very soul?

I very distinctly remember staring into someone's eyes for so long and so intently that all I wanted to do was climb into the same body with him and stay there forever but does that mean that I saw into his soul? Had our souls joined through our eyes? It certainly felt like it. And no doubt all of us know someone who's eyes are about as flat and devoid of life as one can get - chances are good their soul matches that same sort of vacancy.

I have no intentions of visiting any Chinese food place anytime soon (though we all know the way of good intentions!) but it will be interesting to see what my next fortune cookie brings. I just hope it isn't like the one Paula got that said "Made in the USA" ... what the heck kind of rip-off is that?!? Brings me back to that little Mexican guy sitting in the Chinese fortune cookie sweat-shop in El Paso!